An ode to child of a lesser God who chases dreams with torn shoes

On April 22, Tamil Nadu held its head high, when Gomathi Marimuthu, a daughter of the soil, won the gold in the 800 meters sprint at Asian Athletics Championships. Social media was filled with warm wishes for her. Many updated their profiles with her photo, lauding her hard work and the training given by her coach.

As the week progressed, one got to know about the heart wrenching story of Gomathi and her struggles to reach the international arena. Belonging to a poor family, in 2016 she lost her father and her coach, who had been her support system. Amid penury and a lack of sponsors, she also had to battle an injury that forced her to take a break of two years and rethink her decision to pursue a career in sports.

Her recent achievement has testified that she won over the dilemma and crossed all hurdles.

Her story in verses

While her story touched many a heart, well-known Tamil poet Manushya Puthiran, also the editor of the Tamil literary magazine ‘Uyirmai’, went a step further by penning a poem on Gomathi.

Titled ‘Kizhintha Kaalanigaludan Oodum Sorkkathin Kuzhanthaigal’ (children of heaven running with torn shoes) the poem speaks about the many odds that gifted children from economically weaker families face to achieve their goals. The poem’s title is partially inspired by Gomathi’s revelation at a recent interview that she ran with torn shoes at the competition.

In his poem, Manushya Puthiran underlines the bitter fact that for many talented children their first opportunity is sometimes their last. He says most cannot afford to participate in the next competition as they have families to look after and mouths to feed.

The poem goes on to say that many of these children don’t have the luxury of sponsorships and lag behind the rest in the absence of training, nutrition and basic needs like a good pair of shoes.

The poem is reminiscent of the 1998 Oscar-winning Iranian film ‘Children of Heaven’ by Majid Majidi, which chronicles the adventure of two siblings who scout for a lost pair of shoes. In the climax, it is shown that Ali, the boy, finds that his sneakers are torn as a result of the race.

“I linked the film with Gomathi’s condition in that poem,” Manushya Puthiran said in his Facebook post. Posted on April 27, the poem has been shared by more than a hundred times and also translated into English by Girija Hariharan.

A message to society

This is not a one-off incident in which Manushya Puthiran has written a poem on a current issue. His poems have always been a medium to criticise the system or address burning issues. When asked if writing poems will bring any solution to these issues, he says his poems try to ‘create a sensitivity’ towards issues.

“My poems will create a resistance. Over a period of time, these poems will turn into opinions. These opinions will turn into social pressure which in turn will push the government to act” he says.

Even though wishes have poured in from all quarters for Gomathi, there has been no attempt from the side of the state government to felicitate her, creating furore on social media which has gone hammer and tongs against the ruling AIADMK government for its insensitivity.

While addressing the media at Chennai airport on Monday, state fisheries minister D Jayakumar said since the Election Commission’s Model Code of Conduct is in place, they are unable to extend the support to Gomathi. “We have written to the Election Commission. If we get clearance, we will immediately arrange necessary things to honour her” he said.

Speaking to The Federal, the minister said that while the government awaits the clearance from the EC, the party (AIADMK) is not restrained to the code of conduct.

“We have decided to honour Gomathi, from the party’s side. The date and time will be announced within a couple of days. We will felicitate her with cash prize” he said.

Criticising the minister’s statement, Manushya Puthiran, said if there is any such procedure, the government must try to change it.

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi boasts of the achievement of conducting successful anti-satellite mission operation as the ‘country’s pride’. When EC’s code of conduct is in place, what prevents the state government from boasting the achievement of Gomathi as a ‘country’s pride’?” he asks.